Husking mechanism



Nov. 20, l1945.

INI 'EN TOR. NORMAN E ANDREWS @M ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 20, 1945HUSKING MECHANISM N orman F. Andrews, Moline, Ill., assigner to Deere &Company, Moline, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application January 31,1944, Serial No. 520,566

6 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to husking mechanism and has forits principal object the provision of a novel and improved means formounting a pair of husking rolls.

As is Well-known to those skilled in the art, a husking device comprisesa pair of rolls disposed closely adjacent one another' and rotated inrelatively opposite directions, whereby the rolls grasp the husks andSilks of the ears of corn which are placed upon the pair of adjacentrolls, passing the husks and silks between the rolls and ,dischargingthem to a suitable conveyor or other means of disposal at the oppositeside of the pair of rolls, Occasionally, a piece of cornstalk, corn cob,or a small undeveloped ear of corn is grasped between the rolls, andwould cause damage to the rolls and to the driving mechanism therefor,if it were not lfor the factthat the rolls are yieldably mounted so thatthey can spread apart to pass the object between the rolls. Thus, it isconventional to provide a resilient mounting for the bearings at theopposite ends of the rolls, so that either end of the pair of rolls maybe spread apart. Obviously, this necessitates some complication in thedrive connections to the husking rolls. Furthermore, it is diiiicult toenclose the drive gears in a gear case filled with lubricant in theconventional husking mechanism, since the shiftable bearings introducethe problem of maintaining lubricant-tight seals in the wall of the gearbox.

It is a specific object of my invention, therefore, to provide a huskingroll arrangement and mounting which permits a simple, positive driveconnection. Still another object has to do with the provision of ahusking roll arrangement in which the bearings at the drive end of thehusking rolls are not shiftable, thereby permitting the drive gears tobe enclosed in a lubricant-tight housing or box without any complicatedlubricant sealing devices, while at the same time, retaining theadvantages of having the rolls shiftably mounted so that they may spreadapart at either end to pass pieces of cornstalks, cobs, and smallundeveloped ears, and the like.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of thefollowing description of an embodiment shown-in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan AView of a husking boX embodyingthe principles of my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevational View taken along a line 2 2 inFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevational view taken along aline 3-3 in Figure1.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevational view taken along a line 4 4 inFigure 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the husking mechanism comprises a huskingbox 5 comprising a pair of long sheet metal side walls 6, interconnectedat one end by a vertical end wall "I having flanges 8 extendingvertically along the side edges and suitably connected to the ends ofthe side walls Ii, as by rivets or welding. The 0pposite ends of theside walls 6 are connected to the opposite end walls of a gear box ortransmission housing 9, which is preferably totally enclosed and filledor partially filled with lubricant. Between the gear box 9 and the endwall 1, the huskirig box 5 is open at the top and bottom to permit earsof corn to be fed into the top of the box and to permit silks, husks,leaves and other trash to be discharged from the bottom of the box in amanner well-known to those skilled in the art. The feeding and conveyingmeans above and below the husking box are not shown nor are theydescribed herein, since they formno part of the present invention.

A pair of husking rolls, indicated generally by reference numerals I2and I3, extend longitudinally through the husking box between thetransmission housing 9 and the end wall 1. Each of the husking rolls I2, I3 comprises a cylindrical roll member I4 having a hollow interiorI5, and a shaft I6 of polygonal cross section, preferably square,extending longitudinally or axially through the hollow interior I5 ofthe member I4. One end of each of the shafts I6 extends through asuitable aperture in the inner wall I'I of the gear box 9 and the otherends of the shafts extends through suitable apertures in the end wall Iof the husking box 5.

The drive ends of the shafts I6 are mounted in a pair of bearings I8,which are mounted within the apertures IS! in the wall I'I on relativelyfixed centers. The bearings I8 are provided with nariges 20, which aresecured to the wall I1 by suitable bolts 2I and are provided withsealing gaskets 22 to prevent any leakage of lubricant through theapertures I9. The ends of the square shafts I6 are, of course, madecylindrical to permit them to turn in the bearings I8. A bevel gear 23is nxed to the end of one of the shafts I6 by means of a suitable pin24, and is disposed in mesh with a beveled drive gear 25, which is xedon a drive shaft 26, disposed transversely of the gear box 9 andsupported in journal bearings 21. in opposite walls of the gear box 9,respectively.

A drive sprocket 28 is fixed to one end of the drive shaft 26 outsidethe gear box 9.

The shaft I3 which is provided with the bevel gear 23, is journaled in abearing 3D'at its opposite end, the bearing 38 beingv mounted within acircular aperture 3| in the end wall 1. The bearing 30 ts snugly withinthe aperture 3i and is not shiftable in a radial direction, thereforeitV will be seen that the shaft carrying the bevel drive gear 23 isjournaled on a fixed axis relative to the husking box. The bearing 30 isprovided with a securing flange 32 which is secured to the outer side ofthe end wall 1 by means of a bolt 33 engaged between a pair of lugs 34on the flange 32. Power may be taken from the-'end of this shaft bymeans of -a suitable gear or sprocket 35 fixed to the extremity of the`shaft by means of a pin 36.

The shaft I6 of the other roll I3 is supported in a bearing 40 disposedwithin an aperture 4I in the end wall 1. 'I'his bearing V4B is providedwith a ange 42 on the outer side of the wall 'I and is pivotallyconnected to the latter by means of a pivot bolt 43 passing through asuitable aperture in an extended portion 44 of the flange 42 and throughan aligned aperture in the end wall 'I. The bearing aperture 4I isarcuate in shape, so that the bearing can be swung laterally about theaxis of the pivot bolt 43 and will slide through the arcuate slot 4Iaway from, and toward the bearing 30.' VVThe bearing 48 is urged towardthe bearing 30 by means of a compression coil spring 48, whichencirclesa bolt 49 extending transversely through' a lug 50 on the topside of the bearing 4B, over the bearing 38, and through an aperture inthe flange 8 of the end wall 1.' The spring 48 is disposed on the end ofthe bolt 49 between the side wall 6 and a nut 5I, threaded on the end ofthe bolt 49. The pressure of the spring 48 can be adjusted by turningthe nut I on the bolt 49 to adjust the amount of'force which urges therroll I3 toward the roll I2 at this end of the pair'of rolls. The bearingI8 at the opposite end of the shaft IE from the bearing 40 is providedwith sufcient looseness to accommodate the lateral shiftingY movement ofthe bearing 46 within the arcuate aperture 41, about the axis ofthepivot bolt 43.

Each of the cylindrical roll members I4 is provided with a hub portion55 adjacent the opposite endsV of the members I4 from the gear box S.These hub portions 55 are provided with square apertures '56 adapted toreceive the square shafts I6 and prevent relative rotation between theroll members I4 andthe shafts I6 so that the roll 'members may bedriven' through the hubs 55 by power transmitted through theshafts IB.The shafts I6 fit within the apertures 55 sufciently loosely, however,to permit the roll members I4 to swing relative to the shafts I6 aboutgenerally radially disposed axes passing through the hubs 55. That is tosay, the hub portions 55 t sulciently closely on the shafts I8 toprevent any appreciable amount of lateral play between the hub portions55 and the shafts I, but permit the opposite ends of the roll members I4to have an appreciable amount of lateral play relative to the shafts I6within the rolls.

The roll members I4 are normally retained in coaxial relation with theshafts 16 by resilient means in the form of coil springs 58 disposed onradially extending axes and bearing between the shaft I6 and theinterior wall of the roll members sion and oppose each` other inbalanced ,lelatlfm to center the shaft within the roll member. As bestshown in Figure 4, each of the coil springs 58 bears against one of theflat sides of the square shafts I6 and is seated within a drilled hole59 in the wall of the cylindrical roll member I4, Each of the holes 59is threaded to receive a plug 68, against which the coil spring 58reacts. Each of the plugs 60 is provided with a slot 6I adapted toreceive a screw driver during installation or removal of the plug.

Preferably, there are four springs 58, spaced 90- degrees apart,although it is possible to use three, ve, or more spaced equally inorder to I4. The coil springs Y58 are stressed in compres- Y balance theopposing forces of the springs. It will be noted that the axes of theseveral springs are all disposed in one transverse plane, although it isnot absolutely essential. that al1 springs be in exactly the same plane,but may be slightly offset if so desired.

Although the husking rolls are shown with smooth cylindrical surfaces,it is understood that any of the conventional surfaces now applied tohusking rolls can be used with this type of husking mechanism.

Power is applied through any suitable power transmitting device to thesprocket 28 on the drive shaft 25, and the drive power is transmittedthrough the intermeshing beveled gears 23, 25 to the associated squareshaft I6. The other roll shaft I6 is .driven through a pair ofintermeshing spur gears 62, 63 rigidly mounted on the two shafts IG,respectively, adjacent the'shaft bearings I8 immediately outside thewall I'I of the gear box 9. However, if desired, the gears 62, 63 can bemounted inside the gear box 9 if the latter is made slightly larger, aswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. The power is applied inthe direction which will cause the rolls to turn in relatively oppositedirections in such a manner as to cause the adjacent surfaces of therolls to travel downwardly, in order to grasp therebetween any leaves,husks or silks that are adhering to the ears of corn which are Vbroughtinto proximity to the upper sides of .the rolls. In case that a cob orstalk be grasped between the rolls near the drive end of the shafts, thecylindrical roll members I4 spread apart to pass the cobs therebetween,by virtue of the coil springs 58 yielding and permitting the rollmembers I4 to swing apart angularly relative to the drive shafts I6. Inthis case, there is no lateral shifting movement of the drive shafts,inasmuch as the bearings I8 in the gear case 9 are on relatively fixedaxes. Hence, it is apparent that the yielding movement of the rollmembers 14 in this case, does not interfere with the drive mechanism,since there is no yielding movement of the shafts I 8 and thus norelative shifting movement of either the bevel gears 23, 25 or the spurgears 62, 63.

In case a cob or stalk is caught between the opposite ends of the rollmembers near the hubs 55, there is substantially no lateral movement ofthe roll members I4 relative to the shafts I6, but the rolls spreadapart by virtue of the bearing 40 pivoting about the pivot bolt 43 andspreading apart from the other roll member against the action of thecompression spring 48, As soon as the object has passed through therolls, the spring 48 returns the roll I3 to its normal position insubstantialy engagement with the surface of the roll I2. This angularshifting movement of the shaft I6 of the roll I3 has a negligible eecton the meshing of the gears 62, B3 at the other end of the rolls.

When an object is passed between the rolls near the center of the rolls,the yielding movement is a combination of the two yielding movementsdescribed above.

I claim:

l. In combination, a pair of roll shafts, a pair of bearings disposed onrelatively fixed centers for supporting adjacent ends of said shafts,respectively, power transmitting means connected with said sh-afts nearsaid bearings, for driving said shafts in relatively oppositedirections, a second pair of bearings for supporting the opposite endsof said shafts, respectively,` supporting means for said second pair ofbearings providing for relative movement toward and away from eachother, resilient means for urging said bearings toward each other, apair of hollow rolls mounted on said shafts, respectively, between thebearings, means securing the ends of said rolls adjacent said secondpair of bearings to said shafts but permitting the rolls to shiftangularly about axes perpendicular to said shafts adjacent the lastmentioned ends, thereby permitting the ends of said rolls adjacent saidfixed bearings to move apart, and resilient means disposed between saidshafts and their respective rolls for yieldingly retaining said rolls incoaxial relation to said shafts, respectively.

2. In husking mechanism, the combination of a gear box, a pair ofhusking roll shafts extending through one wall of said box in spacedrelation, a pair of bearings mounted in said wall on relatively fixedcenters for supporting said shafts, respectively, power transmittingmeans disposed within said box connected to drive said shafts inrelatively opposite directions, a second pair of bearings for supportingthe opposite ends of said shafts, respectively, supporting means forsaid second pair of bearings providing for relative movement toward andaway from each other, resilient means for urging said bearings towardeach other, a pair of hollow husking rolls mounted on said shafts,respectively, between the bearings, means securing the ends of saidrolls adjacent said second pair of bearings to said shafts butpermitting the rolls to shift angularly about axes perpendicular to saidshafts adjacent the last mentioned ends, thereby permitting the ends ofsaid rolls adjacent said gear box to move apart,

and resilient means disposed between said shafts and their respectiverolls for yieldingly retaining said rolls in coaxial relation to saidshafts, respectively,

3. A roll of the class described, comprising a hollow cylindricalmember, a shaft extending axially through said member, there beingclearance between said shaft and the interior ofsaid member, means atone end of said member for mounting the latter substantially coaxiallyon said shaft and preventing radial movement of said member relative tosaid shaft but permitting swinging movement of said member relative tosaid shaft to provide for displacement of the other end of said memberradially relative to said shaft, and resilient means disposed betweensaid shaft and said member at said other end of the latter for normallyretaining said roll coaxial with said shaft but yieldable to a radiallyapplied force causing said member to shift out of said coaxial relation.

4. A husking roll comprising `a hollow cylindrical member, a shaftextending axially through said member, there Ibeing clearance betweensaid shaft and the interior of said member, drive means at one end ofsaid shaft adjacent the end of said member, hub means at the other endof said member for mounting the latter on said shaft and preventingrelative shifting movement in a radial direction and also relativerotation therebetween but permitting swinging movement of said memberrelative to said shaft about a radial axis to provide for generallyradial displacement of the drive end of said member relative to theshaft, and resilient means disposed between said shaft and said memberadjacent the drive end of said shaft for normally retaining said rollcoaxial with said shaft but yieldable to a radially applied forcecausing said member to shift out of said coaxial relation.

5. A husking roll comprising a hollow cylindrical member, a shaft ofsquare cross section extending aigally through said member,4 there beingclearance between said shaft and the interior of said member, drivemeans at one end of said shaft, hub means at the other end of saidcylindrical member engaging said square shaft to transmit driving forcetherethrough and maintaining that end of said member substantiallyconcentric with said shaft but permitting 'r relative swinging movementabout a radial axis to provide for generally radial displacement of thedrive end of said member relative to the shaft, and resilient meanscomprising a plurality of coil springs disposed between said shaft andA* said member adjacent the movable end of the latter, said springsbeing disposed on substantially radial axes in opposed relation fornormal- 1y retaining said roll coaxial with said shaft but yieldable toa radially applied force causing said member to shift out .of saidcoaxial relation.

6. A roll for a harvesting machine, said roll comprising a hollowcylindrical member, a shaft of polygonal cross section disposed withinsaid member and extending axially thereof, drive means connected to oneend of said shaft, a plurality of coil springs disposed generallyradially and acting in compression between the several sides of saidshaft and the inner wall of said member and opposing one another inbalanced relation, said springs being positioned adjacent said drive endof said shaft, and hub means having a polygonal socket receiving saidshaft for mounting the opposite end of said member on said shaft totransmit drive force thereto and preventing radial displacement of saidmember relative to said shaft but permitting relative swinging movementbetween the member and the` shaft about a generally radially extendingaxis at said opposite end of the member.

NORMAN F. ANDREWS.

